Rubberized buttonhole eyelet



June 10, 1958 J. w. LARKIN RUBBERIZED BUTTONHOLE EYELET Filed June 20,1955 'IIIIIIIIII/I.'IIIIII/IIIII. mmwmwnvmA A m Q DVA A A A A 5 1 IN VEN TOR. JOHN WILLIAM LARKIN RUBBERKZED BUTTONHOLE EYELET Hahn WiiliamLarkin, New York, N. Y. Application June 20, 1955, Serial No. 516,529 1Claim. c1. 24-202 Thisinvention relates to a buttonhole eyelet, and moreparticularly has reference to a molded, rubberized eyelet, that can beswiftly attached to a piece of fabric to provide a buttonhole therein.

Most usually, a buttonhole is formed by the provision of a slit-likeaperture in a piece of fabric, after which, either by hand or throughthe use of suitable sewing machinery, stitching is applied throughoutthe edge of said aperture, to form a reinforcing welt thereon.

This method'of forming buttonholes is time-consuming, and accordingly isrelatively expensive, particularly in commercial as distinguished fromhousehold sewing operations.

The main object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide arubberized buttonhole eyelet, that will be preformed,-will be adaptedfor positioning over the slitlike aperture with maximum speed and ease,and can be stitched to the fabric through a conventional, simple line ofstitching that will involve a considerably smaller expenditure of timethan has heretofore been required when conventional buttonhole-formingpractices are followed.

A further object of importance is to provide an eyelet as stated which,by reason of its being formed of rubber or a similar strong, Wearresistant material, will strengthen, and eliminate the fraying of,buttonholes in clothing.

Still another object is to provide a buttonhole eyelet that will improvethe appearance of the cloth, by reason of its neat appearance, itscharacteristic of eliminating raggedness and fraying in buttonholes, andby reason of its adaptability to hold a proper shape throughout thelifetime of the garment.

Still another object of importance is to provide a buttonhole eyelet asstated which can be manufactured very cheaply, following mass productionmethods.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will behad to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a buttonhole eyelet formed according to thepresent invention, applied to a piece of fabric only a fragment of whichis shown, the eyelet being shown partially in section.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the eyelet per se, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, still further enlarged, on line 55 ofFig. 4, the fabric being shown in dotted outline.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of eyelet, as it appearsin the first step of applying the same to a piece of fabric, only afragment of which is shown.

nited States i atent C Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view on line 7-7of. Fig. 6.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views on the same cutting plane as Fig. 7, showing theeyelet during further, successively following steps in the operation ofapplying the same to the garment, Fig. 9 showing the, eyelet at thecompletion of the operation.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with the eyelet being shown at thecompletion of the operation of attaching the same to the fabric.

Fig. 11 is a plan sectional view on line"11-11 of Fig. 7.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-5, the eyelet, generallydesignated at 12, has been illustrated in association with a piece offabric P, which may be part of a garment such as a shirt, coat, etc.

The eyelet 12 is formed from a single piece of soft, relatively thinrubber material, which may be suitably colored so as to cause the sameto be matched with the color of the fabric, thus to be relativelyinconspicuous when applied to the fabric. Further, the rubber would bewholly washable, and would be such as to be impervious to the chemicalaction of cleaning and dyeing solutions.

The eyelet 12 includes a flat backing member 14 which in the illustratedexample, but not necessarily in every instance, is formed to anelongated, rectangular outer configuration. Extending longitudinally andcentrally of the backing member, and terminating short of the oppositeends thereof, is an elliptical welt 16, projecting upwardly above theplane of the backing member as shown in Fig. 5. The welt extends about aslit-like aperture 18, in the backing member, through which the button,not shown, will be inserted during use of the eyelet.

As shown in Fig. 5, the welt, along its inner surface 20, istransversely curved through substantially of a circle, with the aredescribed by the transversely curved inner surface 20 of the weltmerging at one end into the underside of the backing member 14, andmerging at its upper end into an outer surface 22 of the welt. The outersurface 22 is also transversely curved, oppositely to the surface 20,but is curved about a distinctlysrnaller radius, so as to terminatealong its lower edge, above and in closely spaced relation to thebacking member 14, to provide an undercut groove 24 extending about thefull periphery of the welt, adapted to receive the edge of the fabric F.

In use of the eyelet, the fabric is first cut to form an elongated,slit-like aperture .therein coextensive in length with' the welt 16.Then, the backing member is applied to the back surface of the fabric,and the welt is pressed upwardly through the aperture of the fabric.Stitching 26 is then applied, through the full marginal area of thebacking member 14, with said stitching passing through the backingmember and fabric, to secure the welt to the fabric.

It will be seen that the welt will protect the edge of the fabricaperture against fraying, since said edge of the aperture is engaged inthe undercut groove 24, and the resultant buttonhole will, throughoutthe life of the garment, maintain a neat appearance, eliminating thepossibility of fraying or enlargement of the buttonhole.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6-10, the eyelet has beengenerally designated 28. As in the first form, the eyelet is molded froma single piece of relatively soft rubber material or the like. Thethickness of the portions of the eyelet has been slightly exaggerated inFigs. 6-11, to facilitate a clear understanding of the construction.

When manufactured, the eyelet will appear as in Figs. 6, 7 and 11, andincludes at opposite ends thereof head in portions 30, 32 respectively,the edges of which are transversely'eurved or rounded through 180 of acircle, as at 34, 36 respectively.

A pair of flaps 38, 40, which in the applied position of theeyeletconstitute backing members as will presently appear, are identicallyformed, and are spaced apart transversely of the eyelet, said flaps,before application of the eyelet, lying in acommon plane and beingformed to rectangular outer configurations. The flaps, at their oppositeends, are integrally connected at 42, 44 to the confronting, innersurfaces of the head 30, 32, with said connection of the flaps to theheads being disposed at opposite ends of the inner longitudinal edges ofthe flaps. The integral connections terminate short of the side of theheads, to provide short, transverse slits 46, 48 (see Figs. 6 and 11),the purpose of the slits being to facilitate bending of the eyelets fromtheir Fig. 7 position to their Figs. 8 and 9 positions.

The inner longitudinal edges of thefiaps 38, 40 are spaced apart, atopposite sides of and in symmetrical relation to the longitudinal centerline of the eyelet, to provide'a button-receiving slot or aperture 50,in registration with a slit-like aperture 51 formed in the fabric Fprior to or after application of the eyelet to the fabric.

In use of this form of the eyelet, the eyelet is positioned upon thefabric F in the manner shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Then, the free, outerlongitudinal edges of flaps are swung upwardly in the direction of thearrows in Fig. 7, to their Fig. 8 positions, in which positions theyproject upwardly in registration with opposite sides of the heads 30,32. Then, said free longitudinal edges of the flaps are swung inwardlytoward one another in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 8, andare extended downwardly through the openings 50, 51. Thereafter, thefree longitudinal edge portions are bent outwardly under the fabric, inopposite directions outwardly from the opening 50 to their Fig. 9positions. Stitching 52 is now applied, through the full marginal areaof the eyelet as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and said stitching not onlypasses through the fabrics, but through the folded flaps at twolocations upon the flaps, namely, the portion of the fiaps adjacent theslits 46, 48 and the outer longitudinal edge portions of the flaps, thatunderlie the fabric. This securely attaches the eyelet to the fabric,and the flaps, extending along opposite sides of the aperture 51 of thefabric, protect the same and define a button-receiving opening.

In this form of the invention, as in the first form, the

eyelet can be manufactured at low cost, following quan- 4 movement outof an intimate relationship with the eyelet, and against fraying.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that i do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

A buttonhole eyelet comprising a body of resilient material having anelongated aperture for receiving a button, a portion of said body beingadapted to overlie a fabric or the like to which the eyelet is appliedand a second portion of said body underlying the first portion to extendunder the fabric, and stitching extending about said aperture throughsaid body for attaching the same to said fabric, said body including abacking member and a welt, the welt being solid and being extended alongthe full perimeter of said aperture to reinforce the eyelet along theedge of the aperture, said welt constituting the first-named portion andsaid backing member constituting the second portion of said body, thestitching being extended through said backing member, said welt being ofelliptical configuration, the backing member being flat over its fullarea, the welt extending over substantially the full length of thebacking member and being disposed longitudinally and centrally of thebacking member, the welt having an inner surface defining the wall ofthe aperture, said inner surface being transversely rounded throughsubstantially 180 with the lower edge of said inner surface merging intothe underside of the backing member and the upper edge terminating atthe top of the welt, said welt having an outer surface also transverselycurved through substantially 180, but about a radius substantially lessthan that of the inner surface, the upper edge of the inner surfacemerging into the upper edge of the outer surface of the welt, therebyconstituting a welt substantially circular in cross section, the lowersurface of the welt terminating above and in closely spaced relation tothe top surface of the backing member to define therebetween an undercutgroove extending along the outside of the welt to receive an adjacentedge of said fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS160,504 .Blamforth Mar. 9, 1875 368,035 Wentworth Aug. 9, 1887 506,110Hampel Oct. 3, 1893 685,982 Gutmann Nov. 5, 1901 2,713,686 Oster July26, 1955

